Chapter 182: Mourinho, conceited to the point of abnormality?
No. 11 Ibrahimovic replaced No. 9 Giroud.
Giroud, who had been acting like an older brother on the field, trotted to the sidelines and when he clapped his hands with Ibrahimovic, he instantly turned into a respectful little brother.
Unlike other players who did not run quickly into their positions after coming on the court, Ibrahimovic came to "rule the world". He held his head high, as if reviewing the players of both teams, and slowly ran to his center area.
【Dong Dong Dong】
[ Superstar Mission: Win 5 aerial duels with Zlatan Ibrahimovic]
[Task progress: 1/5]
Golden words appeared before his eyes. This was a prompt from the system to Chen Xiaoliang.
It's here! I've finally been waiting for it!
The game has reached the 70th minute, and there are still four headers to go, so time is running out.
There is an even more troublesome problem. The last time he played against AC Milan, he played as a defensive midfielder and could often retreat to the penalty area to help the central defender defend against Ibrahimovic.
But now he is playing as a central midfielder. If he retreats all the way to the penalty area to compete with the opponent's center forward for headers, not only will it create a huge vacuum in the middle of the midfield tactically, even the opponent will be surprised by this behavior.
This is also far beyond the tactical freedom Mourinho gave him.
Chen Xiaoliang was very interested in what the reward for this task [Zlatan Ibrahimovic Skill Training Package] was.
How could the reward for such a legendary player be bad?
Moreover, another superstar task of competing against Harry Kane 5 times was finally achieved 3/5, but because Tottenham gave up the last round of the Europa League group stage, it is definitely impossible to complete it.
What to do?
How can I have a chance to fight against Ibrahimovic?
However, taking advantage of the opportunity to make the substitution, he used the physical recovery card.
Stamina recovery card 2→1
Unexpectedly, Pioli provided Chen Xiaoliang with a potential solution to the problem that he couldn't think of a solution to at the moment.
Ibrahimovic's appearance directly changed AC Milan's tactical play.
Although Ibrahimovic's extreme speed and short-distance sprinting ability have seriously declined, he still maintains a very high level in aerial ball competitions, penalty area confrontations, and standing still. Facing Roma's tough defense and resolute and quick counterattacks, Pioli, who did not dare to press forward, replaced Ibrahimovic, allowing the team to try to resolve the battle with aerial balls in the remaining 20 minutes.
This tactical style of play is very common. Cesco, who regards Ibrahimovic as his idol, also plays the role of a fulcrum in the frontcourt most of the time on the court.
Mourinho's use of Smalling and Ibanez as a central defender combination today was actually a response to Ibrahimovic.
Compared to the softer Mancini, Smalling and Ibanez, who have a tougher style of play, are more reliable in aerial duels.
Sure enough, in the next 3 minutes, AC Milan tried a 45-degree cross from both flanks through Florenzi and Theo, and Ibrahimovic was successful in both headers.
He headed the ball directly at the goal, but was blocked by Smalling and was easily caught by Patricio.
Another header was passed back to Diaz, who shot from outside the penalty area but the ball went over the crossbar.
Although neither attack was effective, they were both threatening. They were simple and crude yet very likely to succeed. Looking at this situation, Mourinho was in a dilemma.
Judging from the team's performance, it is entirely possible to score another goal in the remaining 20 minutes, and it is not impossible to turn 1 point into 3 points.
In this case, Roma has a good chance of winning this round.
This is what Mourinho has been thinking about most, and it is also the most powerful evidence for him to prove to the whole of Italy that he is "back".
But no one can ignore the threat posed by Ibrahimovic in the penalty area, and if things go wrong we might not get even a single point.
At this time, if we change to three central defenders and add a central defender, it will obviously greatly reduce the pressure on air defense in the penalty area, but the offensive force in the frontcourt will be one less, and it will become very difficult to score another goal.
Joao, who was very quiet during the game, couldn't help but say to Mourinho: "Jose, why not move Chen back or let him play as a defensive midfielder to help with air defense in the penalty area. Pellegrini is also more familiar with the midfield position."
Even Zhan Jun and Dong Fangzhuo in the live broadcast room expressed the same view.
Zhan Jun: "We saw that the live broadcast director cut the camera to the Roma coaching bench. Joao was holding the tactical board and saying something to Mourinho, but Mourinho ignored him."
Dong Fangzhuo: "Maybe Joao has the same view as us. We both think that shrinking the two flanks and letting Xiaoliang retreat to play as a defensive midfielder can better protect the penalty area."
The camera doesn't lie, Mourinho refused.
He naturally had his reasons for his idea: Chen Xiaoliang was far more threatening in the center of the midfield than Pellegrini, and unlike the latter, he never stuck to the ball. He passed the ball when he should, and distributed it when he should. He never stopped to look at the ball or dribble for a long time.
For a team that adopts a defensive counterattack, this decisive and crisp midfield style of play is very important.
In order to deal with the connection between Chen Xiaoliang and Cesco, AC Milan's two defensive midfielders focused most of their defensive attention on Chen Xiaoliang and rarely pressed forward to participate in the attack. Conversely, this also restrained AC Milan's offensive strength.
In addition, Chen Xiaoliang's excellent running and sweeping ability also strengthened the pressing and intercepting capabilities in the midfield and frontcourt, which greatly reduced the number of passes in the middle of AC Milan, and the ball was more often used on the two flanks.
All of the above can only be achieved by Chen Xiaoliang playing as a central midfielder.
The deeper reason is that if Chen Xiaoliang returns to the defensive midfielder position, his role in passing and intercepting will overlap with that of new signing and his confidant Matic, which will greatly reduce the role of Matic.
Just as Mourinho was hesitating, the situation on the field suddenly changed .
In the 75th minute, Zaniolo's long shot was saved by Maignan, and Theo half cleared the ball and half made a long pass to kick the saved ball to the front court.
Ibrahimovic retreated to find space, jumped high with his back to him and headed the ball behind him. Leo, who was lying in ambush beside him, immediately sprinted forward.
Rome's defense was broken in an instant!
No matter how hard Smalling tried to chase back with his dreadlocks, he couldn't catch up with the Portuguese striker who had just come on the field. Leo rushed into the penalty area, faced Patricio, and calmly chose to push the ball to the right!
The ball went cleanly into the net!
The entire San Siro erupted with a deafening roar!
Zhan Jun: "AC Milan leads 3-2! After Ibrahimovic came on the pitch, it really had an immediate effect! It's not that Pioli didn't attack, it's that Pioli has been waiting for this time to come!"
Dong Fangzhuo: "That's right. In the last game, Ibrahimovic started and the effect was obviously not very good. No matter how good his physical condition is, he is already 40 years old. His physical strength will definitely decline much faster than that of young people. In the second half, his speed, confrontation ability, and even reaction ability were obviously insufficient.
In this match, Pioli chose the opposite approach, sending Ibrahimovic to the field when Roma's midfield and backcourt were running low on energy, so that Ibrahimovic's role could be maximized."
Zhan Jun: "Today's director seems to be very concerned about Mourinho and has pointed the camera at him again! Not only is his face livid, but even Joao next to him has a rare look of anger and unwillingness!"
"Wait! We saw something unexpected happen! We thought Joao was going to the sidelines to give tactical instructions to the players, but he went straight into the player tunnel! At the critical point of the game at the 75th minute , the assistant coach left the field first. It seems something must have happened between him and Mourinho."
Dong Fangzhuo: "Yes... This is indeed too rare, because generally speaking, when a famous coach like Mourinho goes to any club to coach, he will bring a coaching team to join the coaching staff. Joao has been following him when he was at Tottenham. The two have been working together for more than two years. Logically, they should know each other well. It is indeed very unexpected that such a disagreement occurred."
Zhan Jun: "Joao Sacramento! In November 2019, he left Lille, the French Ligue 1 club where Celik previously worked, and joined the madman as an assistant coach. He had previously worked as a team analyst for the Welsh national team."
Dong Fangzhuo: "It seems that there are two other coaches brought by Mourinho, right?"
At this time, Zhan Jun, who is known as the mobile database, began to list Mourinho’s coaching team: “In addition to Joao, there are 5 more people.
Goalkeeper coach Nuno Santos, he and Joao transferred from Lille to Mourinho's team. Fitness coach Carlos Larin followed Mourinho during the Real Madrid period. Another fitness coach Stefano Lapetti was already in Mourinho's coaching team during Inter Milan's treble period!
There are also two other analysts, Giovanni Serra and Michele Salzarullo. The former followed Mourinho at Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham, and the latter also worked with Mourinho during Inter Milan's treble period, but later did not follow him to various national leagues until he returned to his coaching team with Roma this time."
In the live broadcast room, some fans praised Zhan Jun for his "professionalism", "hard work", and "adequate preparation", while others mocked "Catching the Traitor V5.0: There is a Traitor in the Coaching Staff", "The Prelude to the Collapse of Rome", and "In the past, the post-match press conference mocked the opponent's coach. Are you going to mock your own coach tonight?"
…
On the sidelines, Mourinho was furious at the moment, but he had to be patient. He knew that if he lost control at this moment, all his efforts of the whole night and even half a season would be out of control!
However, in the previous goal, it was because Pellegrini did not put pressure on Ibrahimovic that he easily jumped up and completed the header pass, and then rubbed Leo to create a one-on-one opportunity.
But if Chen Xiaoliang and Pellegrini were swapped at this time, wouldn't that be an endorsement of Joao's opinion, which would be equivalent to slapping himself in the face? !
Mourinho decided to make a change and he brought on Mancini to replace Smalling, whose physical strength was declining.
The formation remains 4-2-3-1 and has not changed.
In the 76th minute, Roma kicked off.
But no one expected that Mancini would set a record just one minute later.
After scoring a goal, Leo became more and more excited and continued to create threats on the wing.
In the 77th minute, Theo made a position swap with Diaz. Diaz pretended to break through the offside position, attracting Celik's defensive attention. Leo seized the opportunity to move into the penalty area, and Theo made a timely pass.
Mancini, who had just come on the field, seemed to be unable to move. After clumsily blocking Leo a few times, he directly kicked the ball and knocked Leo to the ground!
The referee immediately awarded a red dot package!
Because Mancini was the last player at that time!
The entire Roma team surrounded the referee to ask for an explanation, but the video referee team told the referee in no uncertain terms through the headphones that there was absolutely no problem with the decision, so the referee did not even choose to review the VAR and instead gave Pellegrini a yellow card for stepping out!
Mourinho on the sidelines couldn't bear it anymore, as if all the frustrations and setbacks in the game broke out at this moment. He kicked the water bottle on the ground away and rushed towards the fourth official angrily!
Lapetti, who had sensed something was wrong a long time ago and had followed Mourinho for nearly ten years, immediately rushed down and grabbed him. Mourinho was "greeting" the fourth official and his referee team at the speed of Gatlin.
However, after the referee Maresca glanced at the coaching bench on the sidelines, he did not make things worse for Mourinho. After all, in such a focus battle, a red card package would be enough to make him the focus of media discussion again after the game!
You know, the 3-3 draw between the two teams in the first half of the season was also refereed by this referee from Naples! After the game, due to the controversial incident, he was "heavily punished" by the Serie A Organizing Committee and refereed two games in Serie B before "returning" to Serie A.
He had expected to be ridiculed by Mourinho and fiercely criticized by the local media in Rome after the game.
Maybe they will have to go to Serie B to accept another two rounds of "heavy punishment".
In this case, sending Mourinho off the field for his rude remarks to the fourth official would be a bit of a ruthless move.
He also didn't want to be thrown a water bottle or a stone when he went on a business trip to Rome in the future...
Zhan Jun: "I don't know if you can buy the almanac in Italy. If you can, I would definitely suggest Mourinho to take a look and see if he has an unlucky star today and everything is going to go wrong!"
Dong Fangzhuo: "Personality determines destiny. Mourinho is really too stubborn."
Zhan Jun: "Xiao Dong, there is another European football heavyweight who shares the same opinion as you!"
Dong Fangzhuo: “Who?”
Zhan Jun: "Florentino, the president of Real Madrid! In July last year, the Spanish newspaper El Confidencial released several recordings, which caused an uproar in the entire European football world!
In the recording, Florentino criticized and even insulted many people in the football world.
Including the legendary Spanish coach Bosque, who he called the biggest liar he had ever seen;
And Real Madrid’s legendary goalkeeper Casillas is a lapdog, a child without principles;
Another legend, Raúl, was also described by him as a big liar in the locker room;
Ronaldo is a self-righteous pervert;
The Mourinho he described is extremely conceited, so conceited that he lost himself and could not see the truth of things.
Of course, Florentino immediately issued a statement. He did not deny the authenticity of the recording, but said that it was a serious damage to his personal reputation, and that the recording was taken out of context, only the controversial parts were played, and the facts were deliberately distorted. He has filed a lawsuit in the local court in Madrid, demanding compensation of 1 euro from El Confidencial.
Dong Fangzhuo: “100 million euros?”
Zhan Jun: "It was 1 euro, and they demanded that El Confidencial apologize in the newspaper. So this matter caused a lot of controversy, but the parties who appeared in the recording all chose to remain silent, and no one expressed their opinions on this matter.
Whether Mourinho is stubborn or conceited is a matter of opinion, but this game may be a proof! Look at who took the penalty when AC Milan fell to the ground! "
"It's still that man! Red Hare among horses, Ibrahimovic among people!"
"The referee Maresca kept blowing the whistle, forcing the unwilling Roma players to leave the penalty area."
"Patricio, be prepared!"
"The referee whistles and Ibrahimovic takes a run!"
"Shoot! Bottom left corner of the goal!"
"It jumped out!"
"Abraham got the ball and cleared it out of the sideline!"
"Patricio prevented the score from becoming 4-2 and saved the last glimmer of hope for Roma!"
On the sidelines, Mourinho, who had calmed down a little, quickly made substitutions.
Kumbulla came on, replacing Malacia, and he formed a three-man defense with Ibanez and Celik;
Zaniolo comes off and Karsdorp comes on to play as right wingback;
Binya comes on, Abraham comes off, playing as left wingback;
Chen Xiaoliang retreated and played as a double defensive midfielder with Matic;
Pellegrini moved forward and played as a shadow striker behind Cesco;
The formation also changed to 3-4-1-1
After going around in circles and paying the price of a goal and a red card, the stubborn Mourinho still chose to bow to reality.
When Mancini was sent off, he told the Roma vice-captain to "roll" back to the locker room and wait.
"Jose, I'll go to the locker room." Lapeti said cautiously.
The words were very tactful and the meaning was very clear. Joao and Mancini must have been "hurt" today, and he had to go over to comfort them to avoid the conflict escalating to the level of serious confrontation.
Although athletes and coaches in competitive sports have different personalities, they are all considered to have worse tempers than ordinary people. After all, if they don’t have a certain level of bloodiness and temper, they will be bullied by older players in the locker room of the youth training team since childhood.
This personality type can easily go to extremes.
For example, Ibrahimovic once said that he was willing to die for Mourinho . Although it was exaggerated, it was also a manifestation of admiration.
If the target is Pogba, the answer might be Mourinho, go to hell...
The two's every bit of experience at Manchester United also created a pair of lifelong enemies.
However, even if Lapetti said so, Mourinho was still unwilling to compromise: "I want you to stay here. Even if there is a bomb in the locker room, let me deal with it after the game!"
Lapeti was helpless, he knew Mourinho was furious and no one could persuade him, so he simply sat back in the coaching seat, crossed his arms and said nothing.
Penalties, arguments, penalties, substitutions, after all the chaos, the time came to the 81st minute.
What was left for Roma was a 10-man team, a lagging score, and a mentality that could collapse at any time due to the head coach's emotions.
